


To The Prettiest Boy in School

by Alette



Category: NCT (Band)
Genre: Alternate Universe - High School, Confessions, Humor, M/M, Misunderstandings
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-11-30
Updated: 2019-12-19
Packaged: 2021-02-26 06:01:33
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 3
Words: 14,173
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21618802
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Alette/pseuds/Alette
Summary: Xiao Dejun is the prettiest boy in school, and Guanheng is going to ask him to the autumn dance.Unfortunately, things don't go quite as planned.Now with a Vietnamese translation, onWattpadand onWordpress!
Relationships: Chittaphon Leechaiyapornkul | Ten/Qian Kun, Dong Si Cheng | WinWin/Wong Yuk Hei | Lucas, Wong Kun Hang | Hendery/Xiao De Jun | Xiao Jun
Comments: 147
Kudos: 711





	1. Step 1

**Author's Note:**

  * For [Naerys123](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Naerys123/gifts).



> Who's really surprised to find me here lol
> 
> This fic is for the absolutely incredible Naerys123, who not only got me into WayV (I blame her for ruining my life, yes) but also gave me invaluable advice while writing this. This fic wouldn't be possible without you, so thank you so, so much ♡
> 
> I'm using their Mandarin names throughout (Guanheng instead of Kunhang, Xuxi instead of Yukhei). I hope that isn't confusing! Those are the names I learned first and am most comfortable with ^^;; 
> 
> I hope you'll all enjoy this fic, thank you for giving it a try ♡

Xiao Dejun was the prettiest boy in school, and Guanheng was going to ask him to the autumn dance.

He didn’t think it was that much of a long shot. Dejun liked boys. Guanheng was a boy. Dejun was single, and Guanheng knew he didn’t have a date yet, which Guanheng didn’t really understand but he wasn’t complaining about. Also, while Dejun might’ve been the one-top prettiest, Guanheng was definitely not ugly either. If he considered all the points, Guanheng thought he had a pretty good chance of Dejun agreeing.

There was only one problem. Guanheng said stupid shit.

This wasn’t a Dejun-specific problem, but it did get worse around him. Guanheng said stupid shit to everyone. It wasn’t his fault. His brain-to-mouth filter just didn’t work right. The only time it worked was when it did the exact opposite of what he wanted it to do, that is, it kept the good stuff in and let all the stupidity out.

Like that time he’d meant to compliment Dong Sicheng on his win in some gymnastics meet. In Guanheng’s defense, it was completely accidental. His brain had had a very natural flow of thoughts, basically: 

You’re so good at gymnastics → it’s unexpected because you’re so pretty → people think pretty people are useless → you aren’t that good in class so that kind of makes sense.

And Guanheng had ended up saying, “You’re good even though you’re dumb.” It hadn’t gone over well. Yangyang still brought it up sometimes.

But Dejun was special. No matter what nonsense fell out of Guanheng’s mouth, Dejun understood. He’d stare at him a moment, head tilted and pretty features all puzzled, and then he’d say “Ah!” and understand exactly what Guanheng had meant. 

That look of realization when he worked it out, the way his eyes widened and lit up, made Dejun the prettiest person Guanheng had ever seen.

Now Guanheng just had to ask him to the dance without saying something stupid. 

He didn’t trust his mouth to do it for him. His mouth was a traitor. Instead, he’d have his hands do the work.

“Isn’t that kind of corny?” asked Yangyang, leaning over Guanheng’s desk. “Like, a love letter. Seriously?”

“It’s not a love letter,” said Guanheng. It kind of was. “I’m just asking him to the dance.”

“If you’re gonna ask, just ask,” said Xuxi. He was sprawled out over three desks he’d pushed together. “Like a man, face to face. Don’t sneak him a dumb note.”

“I’m not sneaking it to him,” said Guanheng. “I’m putting it in his locker.”

“You’re not even gonna be there when he reads it?” Xuxi sat up. “Dude.”

“Shut up,” said Guanheng. “You wouldn’t understand.”

Xuxi shrugged, not denying it. There was no use denying. Xuxi was one of the most popular guys in the entire school, and definitely the most popular in their year and section. He was tall, and well-built, and so good looking it was actually annoying, with big eyes and a sunny smile he used often. He could ask literally any person and know they’d say yes. 

“Stop freaking out about it,” said Yangyang with a squeeze on Guanheng’s shoulder. “Write whatever you want. He’ll say yes. He’s the only weirdo in this entire school who’d like you.”

“That is offensive,” said Guanheng. “I’m offended. For me and for Dejun too.”

Yangyang grinned. “But you know I’m right.”

Guanheng didn’t. But he really hoped he was.

Yangyang went to go bother Xuxi, giving Guanheng time to go over his note for the last time. He’d written and rewritten it a hundred times, and he was finally kind of satisfied.

> _To the prettiest boy in school,_
> 
> _I hope this isn’t too weird ^^" The autumn dance is next weekend and I really want to go with you. Sorry I can’t tell you face to face (I know I’ll mess up like I do whenever I see you!!) but I really hope you’ll say yes. I promise we’ll have fun and I think it’d be great if you gave me a chance. I’ll even get you one of those flowers to wear on your wrist if you want!! It’d suit you ^^_
> 
> _You can find me in school or call me with your answer whenever you want_
> 
> _Yours_
> 
> _Huang Guanheng_

That was okay, wasn’t it? Oh, god, Guanheng hoped it was okay. There were no spelling mistakes, at the end his phone number was written neatly with no mistakes, none of the ink had smudged. It was okay. Guanheng took a deep breath and got up. 

“Good luck!” called out Xuxi. Guanheng gave him a thumbs up and left the room.

The hallways were crowded. Students were going from one class to another, hurrying to make sure they made it before the bell. It was the perfect opportunity to slide in a note without being caught.

Guanheng knew exactly where Dejun’s locker was. Not because he was a creepy stalker—of course he wasn’t, not only because he was no good at stalking—but because Dejun’s locker was right next to Ten’s. Students weren’t technically allowed to decorate the outsides of their lockers, but everyone did, just a little. Ten decorated his a lot. The front was plastered with all sorts of stickers, cartoon cats, pop art and funky designs. Guanheng remembered it at first glance. 

Next to Ten’s, Dejun’s looked tame. It had a few glittery musical notes scattered on the front, lovely without being too flashy. Guanheng checked to make sure he wasn’t being watched, and then went to stand in front of it. He felt nervous all of a sudden. What if it didn’t work? What if Dejun thought it was dumb and corny? What if Guanheng had made a bad spelling mistake? He’d checked it, but maybe one more time, just in case—

And then Guanheng looked up and saw Dejun walking right towards him.

Panicked, Guanheng shoved the note through the front grate of the locker and ran away.

He stopped at the end of the line of lockers to watch. It didn’t look like Dejun had seen him. Guanheng watched as Dejun juggled the books in his arms and unlocked the locker. 

His heart was pounding so hard Guanheng was surprised it hadn’t popped out of his chest already. He watched as Dejun swung open the locker door with a hand. The note should be right there, right on top of Dejun’s books inside, he couldn’t miss it—

Dejun put some books inside, took a notebook and textbook out, and then shut the locker door and left.

Guanheng’s jaw dropped. What just happened?

He rushed up to the locker as soon as Dejun was gone. What was that? Had Dejun really not seen the note? It should have fallen right on top of everything!

Or maybe he was just pretending he hadn’t seen it. Maybe he’d seen Guanheng slip the note in, and he didn’t want to reject him so he pretended like he hadn’t noticed it at all. 

Guanheng tried to tell himself that wasn’t it, that maybe Dejun really hadn’t seen it, but he knew that made no sense. He tried to peek inside the locker, see if the note had fallen to one side or something, but it was pitch black inside and no amount of maneuvering with his phone’s flashlight revealed anything. 

The bell rang, and Guanheng gave up. He sighed and made his way to his next class. 

“So he said no?”

“Kinda.”

“He said kinda no, or he kinda said no?”

“He doesn’t wanna go with me.”

“Guanheng, dude, I know you’re miserable and everything, but can you get up? I can’t understand a word you’re saying.”

Guanheng raised his head from where he was facedown on the cafeteria table. “Better?”

“Yeah, thanks,” said Yangyang, flashing him a quick grin. 

“Aw, man, it’s okay.” Xuxi was more sympathetic, clapping Guanheng on the back in a way that was supposed to make him feel better but just hurt his ribcage. “If Dejun doesn’t wanna go with you it’s his loss.”

“But it’s not,” whined Guanheng. “It’s totally my loss. I don’t wanna go with anyone else. And no one wants to go with me either.”

“Don’t say that,” said Xuxi, giving him a shake. More ribcage pain. “You’re handsome, and fun. And if you’re really desperate you can go with Yangyang.”

“Oh, wow,” said Yangyang, affronted. “That was nice, man. Really, so kind.”

Guanheng would have laughed (like he’d be desperate enough to go with _Yangyang_ ) but he was not in the mood. He slumped back down, letting his cheek squish against the tabletop. Xuxi was laughing and was going to say something, when all of a sudden his eyes went huge and he clamped his mouth shut. Next to him Yangyang also froze, and then he pushed at Guanheng to get up.

“Hi, you’re Huang Guanheng, right?”

“Huh?” Guanheng forced himself upright, and found himself looking right up at Ten.

Ten, Chinese name Li Yongqin, was one year their senior and one of the most popular boys in school. He’d transferred from Thailand earlier in the year, immediately became captain of the school dance team, and then went on to win a ton of competitions, both with the team and solo. He was warm and friendly, and good looking too, with sharp, arresting features and a strong gaze. Guanheng understood why he was so popular. What he didn’t understand was why Ten was here, at their cafeteria table, asking about him.

“Yeah, he’s Guanheng,” said Yangyang, when the silence had stretched.

“Great,” said Ten. “Can I talk to you?”

“Uh, sure,” said Guanheng. He got up, shooting confused looks at Xuxi and Yangyang, who both shrugged back. What did Ten want with him?

They left the cafeteria (which Guanheng was grateful for; Ten might’ve been used to people watching him but Guanheng was not) and stood outside. Before Guanheng could ask what was up, Ten reached into his pocket, pulled out a sheet of notepaper and unfolded it, saying, “Did you write this?”

Guanheng recognized the pathetic little note he’d written and slipped in Dejun’s locker. “Yeah,” he said. How did Ten even get that? As far as Guanheng knew Ten and Dejun weren’t really friends. Dejun was close to Qian Kun though, and Kun and Ten kind of had a thing—

“This is really sweet,” said Ten. “Kind of corny, but super sweet.”

“Uh, thanks.” Guanheng didn’t know what else to say.

“I’m really flattered,” said Ten. “And I’m really sorry to say that I don’t like you that way. It’s not about you. You’re handsome and sweet, you’re great, really, but I just don’t. Sorry.”

“Okay,” said Guanheng, confused. “Like me in what way?”

“You know,” said Ten, waving the note a little. “This way.”

That was fine, Guanheng didn’t like him that way either. “Okay, that’s cool,” he said. “You don’t have to say sorry.”

“Right,” said Ten, huffing out a laugh. “I just feel bad, because you wrote me a letter and put it in my locker, that’s such a romcom thing to do…”

The moment Guanheng’s brain started working was the exact moment his mouth shut down. Ten was still talking, but Guanheng’s brain was whirring so loud he didn’t hear anything he said.

The note → the note he was supposed to put in Dejun’s locker → Dejun’s locker → right next to Ten’s locker → Guanheng panicking when he’d seen Dejun → shoving the note inside the nearest locker → the locker which was _supposed to be Dejun’s—_

“Oh,” said Guanheng aloud.

“So I’m really sorry,” said Ten. He smiled. “But if it’s okay, I’ll still go to the dance with you.”

And now Guanheng’s thoughts stopped. “Huh?”

“I agree with you, I think it’d be fun,” continued Ten. “And you seem nice and I think we’d make good friends. So yeah, I’d love to go with you.”

“Uh… uh…” _Talk, you idiot,_ Guanheng urged himself, but the idiot would not talk. 

“So can we go to the autumn dance together?” Ten looked at Guanheng, and smiled.

I don’t want to go with you → I want to go with Dejun → he’s the prettiest boy in school → not that you’re ugly → you’re pretty too → you’re great.

“You’re great,” blurted out Guanheng.

Ten’s smile widened. “Aw, thanks,” he said. “So we’re set for next weekend. Thanks, Guanheng!” And he gave him a brief, friendly hug, and walked off.

Guanheng watched him go, and then fell flat on the floor under the force of his stupidity.

“What?” Xuxi grabbed Guanheng by the collar, pulling him up to eye level. “You’re going with _Ten_?”

Yangyang had been laughing for the past ten minutes, and was completely useless. He’d almost collapsed in the front yard of the school, and was now leaning against a tree gasping for air before his legs completely gave out.

“My stupid mouth wouldn’t listen to me,” said Guanheng. “I wanted to tell him it was a mistake, but my stupid mouth just _wouldn’t_.”

“How did he say yes?” Xuxi was almost shaking Guanheng now. “Why did he say yes to _you_?”

“I don’t know,” whined Guanheng. “I thought he’d say no. He should’ve just said no.”

“Maybe he secretly likes you,” said Yangyang. He was still chuckling, but he seemed better now. He could produce words.

“No way,” said Xuxi, finally letting go of Guanheng. “He likes Qian Kun. They have a thing, everybody knows that.”

“Everybody except Guanheng,” said Yangyang, sniggering.

“Please stop, it was a mistake,” groaned Guanheng. He dropped down to the grass. “I just wanted to ask Dejun to the dance. Why did this happen to me?” He smacked his right hand with his left. “You’re a traitor too,” he grumbled. “Stupid hand.”

“Just tell him you made a mistake,” said Yangyang. “He said he didn’t like you, right? If he was telling the truth he won’t mind if you explain.”

“What? You’re gonna dump Ten?” Xuxi looked like he was ready to grab Guanheng again. 

“He’s not dumping him, he’s just not gonna go with him,” said Yangyang. “Besides, it’s not like Ten will have any problem finding a date. He’s Ten.”

“I’m surprised he didn’t have one already,” said Xuxi. “I thought Kun would—” His mouth snapped shut as a shadow fell over Guanheng.

Guanheng scrunched up his face. Not again.

“Hey, Guanheng,” said Qian Kun. “Mind if we talk for a moment?”

Guanheng would’ve loved to lie and say he was busy, but Xuxi and Yangyang had already mysteriously disappeared into the ether, leaving Guanheng trapped and alone. “Sure,” he said.

Kun reached out a hand and helped him up. “How’ve you been?” he asked. “Your section had a biology quiz last week, right? How did it go?”

“Uh…” Guanheng looked around, not knowing what to say. “It was okay.”

“Good to hear,” said Kun, smiling.

Having an awkward conversation with Ten was bad, but it was bearable. Having an awkward conversation with Kun was torture. Qian Kun was the golden boy of the school. Perfect looks, perfect grades, the adoration of every teacher—he had it all. He was the ideal man to every nerd in school, and there were always juniors milling around him, asking for help with classes or making excuses to talk to him.

Guanheng wasn’t gonna lie, Kun was kind of intimidating. Not because he was smart and popular, but because Dejun was a nerd. Not as bad as most of the others, but he admired Kun like the rest of them, and Kun seemed to genuinely like him back. The only reason Kun even knew Guanheng was because he was usually in the background of Guanheng’s stupid conversations with Dejun. 

“So,” said Kun. “I heard you got a date to the autumn dance.”

There it was. “Uh, yeah,” said Guanheng. He swallowed. He didn’t think Kun was going to punch him, that seemed way over the top and not like Kun, but if he started yelling or, worse, making passive-aggressive remarks—

“Great,” said Kun. “Hope you have fun.”

Guanheng’s eyebrows shot up into his hairline. What?

“You’re going with Yongqin, right?” said Kun. “He said you left him a note in his locker. That’s nice.”

“Uh…” Guanheng was lost. What should he say now? “What about you?” he finally managed.

“Oh, I can’t go,” said Kun, smiling. “I’m volunteering at a study camp and I have to leave for it the day before. But I hope you guys have a great time. Make sure you take care of Yongqin, he gets a bit whiney when he’s tired.” He laughed fondly. “See you around.”

And then Kun walked off, leaving Guanheng more confused than before.

As soon as Kun was gone, Xuxi and Yangyang materialized just as quickly as they’d vanished. “What did he say?” asked Yangyang eagerly. “Did he threaten you? Is he gonna sic his nerds on you?”

“If only,” said Guanheng, and told them the entire confusing conversation.

Yangyang looked more pensive, but Xuxi was pretty much bursting with joy. “That’s why Ten agreed to go with you,” he said. “He’s mad at Kun. It’s like a punishment or something.” He shook his head, chuckling. “I knew there had to be a reason he said yes to you.”

“Are you sure you’re not just bitter because he wouldn’t go on a date with you?” asked Yangyang, smirking.

“He could’ve said yes,” said Xuxi seriously. “It wasn’t like I wanted to be his boyfriend or anything, it was just one date. He was the new kid back then too.”

“I’m sorry, can we focus?” said Guanheng. “My life is over.”

“That’s a little dramatic,” said Yangyang. “It’s just a dance.”

“Dejun’s gonna think I like Ten,” said Guanheng.

Yangyang shrugged. “Then tell him you don’t. But, like, after the dance. Otherwise Ten or Kun might kill you. Or both.”

“You know you deserve this, right?” said Xuxi. “I told you to just ask him straight on.”

“It’s not that easy,” said Guanheng. Especially when you had a stupid mouth like him.

“Yeah, it is,” said Xuxi. He turned, and called out in a loud, clear voice, “Hey! Dong Sicheng!”

Sicheng, who was standing by the front entrance of the school with his friends, turned to Xuxi and raised his eyebrows.

“You wanna go to the autumn dance with me?” asked Xuxi, grinning bright like the sun. 

The entire yard had shut up as soon as Xuxi had yelled Sicheng’s name. Now everyone was watching for his reaction.

“Um,” said Sicheng. “No.”

Xuxi’s mouth dropped open. Guanheng stared, shocked, and found Yangyang staring too, wide-eyed. And then Yangyang grimaced, and Guanheng realized he was cringing too. _Ouch._

“I’m sorry,” said Sicheng, when Xuxi didn’t respond. “It… um… sorry.” And then he went back inside the building, probably to escape everyone’s stares.

Xuxi remained frozen in the front yard. “What just happened?” he asked finally. He sounded dazed. 

“Uh, Dong Sicheng rejected you, dude,” said Yangyang. “And super publicly too. Everyone’s gonna be talking about this tomorrow.”

“Oh,” said Xuxi. “Damn.”

“Hey, they might talk about Guanheng going with Ten instead,” said Yangyang soothingly. 

“Please shut up,” said Guanheng. “I will literally shove my entire fist down your throat—” He stopped mid-sentence as his gaze caught someone’s on the other side of the yard. 

It was Dejun. 

Guanheng wanted to run, but it was too late. Dejun had seen him, and was walking over. Guanheng moved towards him, just to put some distance between them and Xuxi and Yangyang.

“Guanheng,” said Dejun, smiling. “I heard you got a date for the autumn dance. That’s great.”

His dark brown hair fell over his forehead, lending shadows to his delicate, fairy-like features. He was shorter than Guanheng, built smaller and slighter, and when he smiled he looked like he was glowing. Dejun really was the prettiest boy in school. Maybe even in the whole universe.

“Thanks,” said Guanheng. He swallowed. “And you?”

“Oh, nobody asked me yet,” said Dejun. He smiled tightly and said, “We don’t all get notes slipped into our lockers.”

He said it jokingly, but there was a bit of real disappointment there. Guanheng scrambled for words, trying to find something, anything, to say to make it better.

“You should,” he blurted out.

Dejun tilted his head, thinking it over, and then finally jumped and said, “Ah! You’re saying I should try and slip a note myself? That’s not a bad idea.” He smiled. “Thanks, Guanheng.”

For the first time, Dejun hadn’t figured out what Guanheng meant. Guanheng wanted to say that Dejun should’ve gotten the note, not that he was supposed to write one for some other guy, some guy who wasn’t Guanheng—

“I’ll see you tomorrow,” said Dejun. “Bye.” 

He waved, and then skipped off to join Kun. Kun, who gave Guanheng a look loaded with all sorts of meanings he couldn’t decipher, and then smiled at him in his usual golden way. 

Guanheng groaned and collapsed onto the grass. He was so, so screwed. 


	2. Step 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you for all the love and reactions on the last chapter! Hope you all like this one too ♡

Everybody was talking about it. The same topic was on everyone’s lips, from the juniors to the seniors to even the teachers. Some people whispered it, like they thought it was a secret even though the entire school knew, others passed notes or yelled about it in the cafeteria. But in the end, everyone knew, and everyone talked about it.

Guanheng was taking Ten to the autumn dance.

“Why is this such a big deal?” grumbled Guanheng as yet another girl gave him a glare.

“Because he’s literally one of the most popular kids in school,” said Xuxi. “Everyone’s jealous.”

“Or they hate you for getting between him and Kun,” said Yangyang. “Everyone shipped them, you know.”

Xuxi stopped walking and looked at Yangyang. “They _what_?”

“They shipped them,” said Yangyang, unfazed. “Don’t pretend you don’t read EXO fanfiction every night.”

“Shut up,” said Xuxi, giving Yangyang a push and confirming that he definitely read EXO fanfiction every night. 

“So everyone hates me,” said Guanheng. “Great.”

“Not hate,” said Yangyang. “Some of them just don’t believe it. I mean, _you_? You’re good looking and all but you’re just you.”

“Yeah,” said Xuxi. “I mean, Ten even rejected _me_.”

“Dong Sicheng rejected you too,” said Yangyang, grinning like a gleeful devil. 

“That’s a temporary rejection,” said Xuxi seriously. “I really don’t know why he said no. He said he wanted to go, and I know he doesn’t have a date yet.”

It turned out Xuxi’s spontaneous move wasn’t so spontaneous. “How do you know?” asked Guanheng.

“Chengxiao,” said Xuxi. “She’s on the gymnastics team and I’m friends with her. She told me Sicheng was excited about going, but no one asked him yet.” He stared off into the distance, determined look on his face. “He’s gonna agree to go with me in the end, you’ll see.”

“Wait, you’re serious about going with Sicheng?” asked Yangyang. “After he said no in front of literally everyone?”

“Of course,” said Xuxi without hesitation. “A man doesn’t give up after one failure.”

“Good luck,” said Guanheng. He actually admired Xuxi’s attitude. Guanheng had given up on life.

“Why are you so miserable?” asked Yangyang, giving Guanheng a poke. “It’s just a dance. You can ask Dejun out after.”

“But I was supposed to go with him,” whined Guanheng. “I had a whole plan and everything. It was going to be super cute and fun and he’d fall in love with me instantly.”

“If you’re so set on it just tell Ten you can’t go with him,” said Yangyang. “Dejun doesn’t have a date yet, right?”

“He can’t,” said Xuxi. “He can’t reject Ten.”

“Just explain,” said Yangyang. When he talked like this he actually sounded reasonable. “Ten doesn’t like him, he only said yes because he thought Guanheng wanted to go. So if he realizes he doesn’t, then…”

“I dunno, man,” said Guanheng. “I’m kinda scared.”

Yangyang laughed. “Of who? Ten? His fangirls? No one’s gonna beat you up.”

“Not Ten,” said Guanheng. He swallowed. “Kun.”

“You’re kidding,” said Yangyang with a snort. “Kun’s harmless. He’s like an eighty-year-old man. He wears cardigans in summer, for god’s sake.”

But Guanheng wasn’t so sure about Kun being harmless. He couldn’t pinpoint why but Qian Kun terrified him. Maybe because he and Dejun were friends, and Guanheng was scared of being badmouthed by him. Or maybe because no human being could be that golden without having bodies stacked away inside their bedroom walls.

Guanheng did not want to join the wall bodies. Upsetting Ten seemed like a one-way ticket to becoming plaster. 

Yangyang still hadn’t gotten over Guanheng being scared of Kun, but Xuxi paid more attention. “If Ten doesn’t get mad, Kun won’t,” he said. “Just talk to him, maybe he’ll decide himself he doesn’t wanna go with you. Tell him the whole story.” He paused. “Also can you ask him what class Sicheng has before lunch break?”

Xuxi’s confident vibe convinced Guanheng. Maybe Ten would understand. Maybe he’d decide he didn’t want to go to the autumn dance with an idiot like Guanheng. Ten could get a date with a snap, lots of guys hadn’t gotten dates yet. Including Dejun. 

“I never thought I’d say this, but you guys are right,” said Guanheng. “I’m gonna talk to Ten.”

He texted him and got a quick reply that Ten was near the chemistry lab closest to the front doors. Ten had texted Guanheng before, friendly and nice, describing what he was going to wear to the dance and asking if Guanheng had any issues with any scents and generally being a nice person. If Dejun didn’t exist Guanheng would have thought himself the luckiest person in school.

“Hey,” said Ten, as Guanheng walked up to him. “What did you wanna talk about?”

“Uh, can I talk to you alone?” asked Guanheng. People were already looking at the two of them and whispering.

They entered the lab. There were a couple of students inside, but a few nice words from Ten got them to leave. 

“So,” said Ten. “What’s up?”

This was it. Guanheng couldn’t let his mouth mess it up for him now. He had to get the words out right for once.

“I made a mistake,” he said. That was a good start. That wasn’t an accidental insult, at least.

Ten frowned, concerned. “What happened? Are you okay?”

That depended on Ten. “Uh, the note,” said Guanheng.

“The letter?” Ten tilted his head. “The letter you wrote for me?”

I wrote the letter → but not for you → it was for Dejun → Dejun was supposed to get it → I want to go to the autumn dance with Dejun → I’m sorry

“I’m sorry,” blurted out Guanheng.

“For what?” asked Ten, confused. “For not asking me face to face?” He smiled. “That’s fine. It’s okay if you were shy, no one else actually asked me because of Kun—”

“Kun,” said Guanheng. “He—uh, he’s friends—no, he’s going to kill me…”

“He’s not going to do anything,” said Ten firmly. “If he had a problem with who I went to the dance with then he shouldn’t have agreed to go that stupid study camp.”

“It’s not that,” said Guanheng. “At least, it’s not only that. It—uh—you know Dejun?”

“Dejun? Xiao Dejun?” Ten frowned. “What about him?”

Guanheng couldn’t mess up again. He decided to go step by step. He couldn’t mess _that_ up. How much could his traitor mouth hate him? “Your locker is next to Dejun’s,” he started.

Ten nodded. He was following. Okay. So good so far.

“I messed up,” said Guanheng. 

Ten just watched Guanheng. Guanheng squirmed, trying to avoid saying it outright. He really didn’t want to be wall plaster. But Ten wasn’t getting it, and Guanheng wanted to take Dejun to the dance. 

Becoming wall plaster was a risk he’d just have to take. 

“I wanted to put the thing in Dejun’s locker,” said Guanheng. “Not… not yours.”

Staring. Silent, uncomfortable staring, as Ten processed this information and Guanheng tried not to run out the door. 

“So,” said Ten, after what felt like six hours. “I’m _not_ the prettiest boy in school.”

“Uh,” said Guanheng. He didn’t know what to say. Ten wasn’t.

“And you don’t want to go to the autumn dance with me,” said Ten.

“I’m sorry,” said Guanheng. 

“And now,” said Ten, taking a step forward, “you want to leave me without a date, less than one week before the dance.”

Guanheng took a step backwards. This wasn’t going how it was supposed to.

“You won’t go with me,” said Ten. Another step. “After the entire school knows we’re going together.” Another. 

Yangyang _said_ it was going to be okay, he _said_ Ten wouldn’t get mad, freaking _Yangyang—_

“You want to go with Dejun,” said Ten, stepping forward again. “Kun’s friend Dejun. Kun, who thought going to a stupid _study camp_ was more important than going to the dance with me.” Step. 

“Hey, I’m sorry,” said Guanheng, backing away. “Maybe the study camp was really important.”

That was not the right thing to say. That was the exact opposite of the right thing to say. Guanheng’s mouth was not only a traitor, it had a death wish.

“Huang Guanheng,” said Ten, enunciating every syllable perfectly with his Thai accent. “We’re going to the dance together.”

Guanheng sputtered. “But—Dejun—”

“You can ask him out later,” said Ten. “I’ll even help you if you want. But you are going to this dance with me. Everyone knows you asked me with a cute love letter. _Kun_ knows.”

Thoughts whirled in Guanheng’s brain. He had to say something, make Ten understand it wasn’t worth going to the autumn dance with him. It’s okay if Kun knows → Kun likes you anyway → no matter what → it doesn’t matter if I go with Dejun.

“It doesn’t matter,” said Guanheng like an idiot, because that’s what he was.

“Of course it matters!” Ten waved his arms around. “It’s the only thing that matters! We’re going together and that’s final.”

It was final. Guanheng looked at Ten’s face and saw he really didn’t have a choice. It was accept or die.

“Okay,” squeaked out Guanheng.

“Great,” said Ten, flashing a sunny smile like he hadn’t just strongarmed Guanheng into submission. “I knew you’d understand. The next class will start soon, so we should go. I’ll catch you later.”

He was already walking to the door, chipper as ever, when Guanheng blurted out, “Wait.”

Ten stopped and turned. “Yeah?”

“Uh… uh…” Guanheng swallowed. “Do you know what class Dong Sicheng has before lunch break?”

“Chemistry, I think,” said Ten. “Why?”

“No reason,” said Guanheng. “Thanks.”

Ten smiled, sweet and lovely.

“He just _refused_ to not go with you? You can do that?”

Yangyang was doubled over, laughing, trying not to suffocate. He’d been useless since he’d heard the whole story. 

“I guess Ten can,” said Guanheng miserably. “He said no to my no.”

“Oh, man, I should’ve tried that,” said Xuxi, leaning back in serious thought. “Said no when Sicheng said no to me.”

“Maybe you should’ve,” said Guanheng. 

Xuxi nodded, frowning as he thought it over. 

“I can’t believe this,” said Guanheng, flopping forward onto his desk. “I don’t wanna get mixed up in this stupid fight Ten and Kun are having. I just want to go to the autumn dance with Dejun.”

“Maybe you should try talking to Kun,” suggested Xuxi.

“Did you lose every braincell in your head?” demanded Guanheng, sitting up. “Ten would murder me. He’d probably throw me off the school roof.”

“Ooh, maybe Xuxi’s onto something,” said Yangyang. He was still wheezing, trying to catch his breath after all the laughing. 

“I hope you choke and die,” said Guanheng flatly. “I’ll beat your ass in the afterlife.”

“No, just think about it,” said Xuxi. “Ten’s going with you because Kun isn’t going. But if Kun goes then Ten won’t wanna go with you anymore. Because, y’know, Kun.”

He looked completely serious. And it did kind of make sense…

“Are you serious?” Yangyang snorted. “Ten couldn’t get him to skip his study thing, and you think you can?”

“I gotta try,” said Guanheng, determined. He stood up. “Thanks, Xuxi. Oh, and Sicheng’s last class before lunch is chemistry.”

Xuxi yelled out thanks as Guanheng left the room. He had a few minutes before the next class. That was enough time to find Kun.

It didn’t take him long to find Kun. Unfortunately, he was not alone. 

“Guanheng, hi,” said Dejun, smiling. “What’s up?”

“Hi. I need to talk to Kun,” said Guanheng. He turned to Kun. “I need to talk to you.”

“Oh, yeah, of course,” said Dejun. He looked… disappointed? But that couldn’t be right, could it? Guanheng was just fooling himself. Unless maybe—

“Sure,” said Kun. 

They found a less crowded section of hallway close to the teachers’ rooms, where there were fewer students. “So,” said Guanheng, when he was sure no one was eavesdropping. “Your study camp thing. Is that really important?”

“Quite,” said Kun. “Why?”

“Just wondering if you couldn’t skip it,” said Guanheng. “Or maybe go a day later.”

“I’m one of three volunteer mentors, I can’t skip,” said Kun. He paused, narrowed his eyes. “Why do you ask? Is this about the autumn dance?”

You need to go to the dance → go with Ten → then I can be Dejun’s date.

“Dejun’s date,” said Guanheng instead. Because of course he did.

“Because Dejun doesn’t have a date yet?” asked Kun, frowning. The frown quickly changed into something less than friendly. “I don’t see how that’s your problem.”

The look on Kun’s face was not pleasant. It made Guanheng think of wall bodies.

“If you were so worried about Dejun,” said Kun coldly, “you shouldn’t have asked Yongqin to the dance. Whoever Dejun decides to go with is his business.”

“I—I’m not—” Guanheng fumbled with his words, thrown by Kun’s sudden mood change. 

“I’m sorry, I have to go before I’m late,” said Kun. “I’ll see you later.”

And then he left, and Guanheng was right back at square one. He groaned and ruffled his hair with both hands. Why was this so hard? 

“Are you okay?”

Guanheng stopped and raised his head. “I’m fine,” he said, propping up a smile.

“You don’t look like it,” said Dejun. “Did Kun-ge say something?”

“No, it’s me,” said Guanheng. “I’m just stupid.”

“You’re not stupid,” said Dejun. “You just… well, let’s say your mouth is stupid, not you.”

Guanheng chuckled. “Yeah, okay.”

“Whatever you said, I’m sure Kun-ge doesn’t mind,” said Dejun. He rubbed Guanheng’s back reassuringly, hand sliding between his shoulder blades.

“I feel like he kind of minds,” said Guanheng. 

“Because of Ten?” Dejun laughed, and then grinned wickedly. “Maybe. He’s weak for him.”

Guanheng’s heart flip flopped at the smile. There was something special about everything Dejun did. He couldn’t believe no one else noticed.

He remembered something Kun had said, and before he could stop himself said, “You weren’t asked?”

Dejun frowned at him, head tilted, and then finally his face lit up with understanding. “Ah! You’re asking if anyone asked me to the autumn dance?”

Guanheng nodded.

“Oh, no, some did,” said Dejun. His new smile was one Guanheng didn’t like as much as the last one. There was something kind of sad about it. “But, um, I didn’t say yes. I didn’t really like them.”

“Oh.” Guanheng didn’t know what to say.

“Yeah, I kinda messed up,” said Dejun with a little laugh. “Now everyone has dates and I don’t.”

Guanheng swallowed. He was so close to throwing whatever was left of his brain out the window and asking Dejun to the dance. Forget Ten, and Kun, and the rest of the school. He wanted to take Dejun. He wanted to dance with him, and buy one of those flowers for him to wear on his wrist, because Dejun was the prettiest boy in school and Guanheng really, really liked him.

But it was too late. Everyone knew Guanheng was going with Ten. Ten would kill him if he tried to back out. Kun looked like he wanted to kill him already. 

After all that, what were the chances Dejun would even say yes? 

“You’ll find a date,” said Guanheng, determined. He would make it happen no matter what. Dejun should go and have fun.

“I hope so,” said Dejun. He smiled, again that smile Guanheng didn’t like much. “I’m sure you’ll have fun with Ten, he’s great.”

“I… yeah.” Guanheng deflated. 

“See you later, Guanheng,” said Dejun, with a flash of a prettier smile.

Guanheng watched him go, feeling terrible. Only after he’d left did he realize Dejun had had his hand on his back the entire time they’d talked. 

“Where’s Xuxi?” demanded Guanheng, striding into the cafeteria.

Yangyang looked up from his chair at their usual table. “No idea,” he said. 

“I need a date for the autumn dance,” said Guanheng. He dropped into a chair.

“I’m sorry, I thought you already had a date you were trying to get rid of?” asked Yangyang.

“Not for me,” said Guanheng. “For Dejun.”

Yangyang raised both eyebrows but didn’t say anything.

“I can’t go with him, but that doesn’t mean he shouldn’t go,” said Guanheng. “He needs a date.”

“And you think Xuxi can find him one?” 

“Xuxi knows literally everyone in school,” said Guanheng. “He can find someone good enough for Dejun. Good looking, obviously, and nice, but won’t flirt with him too much…”

“Oh, there he is,” said Yangyang, looking past Guanheng.

Xuxi looked… un-Xuxi. He dropped into the empty chair beside Guanheng and slid down it, legs sprawled out in front of him and shoulders slumped. 

Guanheng and Yangyang shared a look, and in the end it was Yangyang who went for it. “Hey, what happened?” he asked.

“I went to see Sicheng,” said Xuxi, voice dead.

“Did it go okay?” asked Guanheng, and then immediately wanted to smack himself. Of course it didn’t go okay.

“I was waiting for him outside his class,” said Xuxi. “I was gonna ask him again, in private this time, y’know? Maybe find out why he said no and what I had to do to get him to say yes.” He raised his head, looking absolutely miserable. “He saw me and climbed out the window.”

Guanheng snorted out a laugh before he could stop himself. He clapped a hand over his mouth and Yangyang shot him a glare that could’ve melted skin, but it didn’t matter. Xuxi looked like he hadn’t even heard. 

“The room was on the first floor,” moaned Xuxi. “And he climbed out the window to get away from me.”

“Ouch,” said Guanheng unhelpfully.

“Hey, man, sorry,” said Yangyang, reaching across the table for a sympathetic pat on the arm. “It’s probably about him. Maybe he just doesn’t wanna go to the dance, and he felt awkward rejecting you for the second time.”

“No, he told Chengxiao he did,” said Xuxi. “He just doesn’t wanna go with me.”

“He could have someone he likes,” said Guanheng. “Maybe he’s gonna ask them. Or he’s waiting for them to ask him. You never know.” He squeezed Xuxi’s shoulder. “Don’t get too down.”

Xuxi looked very down. It was weird, seeing him so dispirited. Xuxi was always fired up. “I would’ve known if he liked someone,” he said. “I would’ve. I don’t understand.”

Guanheng shared another look with Yangyang. Xuxi had been asking after Sicheng for awhile then. 

“How am I even supposed to get a date now?” sighed Xuxi.

The idea hit Guanheng like a slap. “Dejun.”

“What about him?” asked Xuxi. He straightened a bit. “Hey, did you talk to Kun? Are you going to go to the dance with Dejun?”

“No,” said Guanheng. “You are.”

He explained. Xuxi listened to the whole thing without interrupting even once, face completely straight. Guanheng told him the plan, and then leaned back and waited for his reaction.

“Guanheng,” said Xuxi, “are you _freaking crazy_?”

“What?” Guanheng didn’t understand. “It’s a good plan.”

“I’m not going to the autumn dance with Xiao Dejun!” said Xuxi, back to his usual loud self. “You like him! It’s like if you asked Sicheng.”

“Whoa, when did you reach Dejun level with Dong Sicheng?” asked Yangyang. 

“I’m not going with Dejun,” said Xuxi, ignoring Yangyang. “It’s a total betrayal.”

“How is it a betrayal if I’m asking you to do it?” demanded Guanheng.

“You’re betraying yourself,” said Xuxi stubbornly. “It doesn’t matter if Sicheng won’t go with me. I’m not going with Dejun.”

“Hey, there’s an idea,” said Yangyang. “Sicheng could go with Dejun.”

Both Guanheng and Xuxi whipped their heads around to glare at him. “Don’t even joke about that,” said Xuxi. “I’ll throw you off the school roof.”

Yangyang raised his hands in surrender and backed off.

“Just ask him, Xuxi, please,” said Guanheng. 

“No way,” said Xuxi. “Get Yangyang to do it.”

“Wait, that’s not a bad idea,” said Guanheng. Yangyang was pretty good looking, and fun, and he could be nice when he wanted to be. He turned to him with an expectant look.

“Sorry,” said Yangyang. “I already have a date.”

“What?” Xuxi jumped up straight. “Who?”

“Huang Renjun,” said Yangyang. 

“That’s cheating,” said Guanheng. 

Yangyang raised an eyebrow, waiting for Guanheng to say what he actually meant.

“I mean,” said Guanheng, “doesn’t he have a boyfriend?”

“In Korea,” said Yangyang, rolling his eyes. “Is he gonna fly out here for a stupid dance? Renjun asked if I wanted to go with him and I thought, sure, why not? So, sorry guys, but I’m booked.”

“Hold up,” said Xuxi. “You’re telling me that of all the people at this table, _I’m_ the only one without a date?”

Guanheng and Yangyang exchanged looks, and then they both nodded.

“Fine,” said Xuxi, collapsing into his chair. “I’ll ask Dejun.”

“Yes!” Guanheng jumped up and cheered. Finally something was going the way he wanted.

They waited in front of the school’s main entrance as all the students poured out at the end of the day, the three of them in a clump by the trees. Guanheng didn’t know why, but he was nervous. He bounced on his heels, craning his neck, trying to make sure he didn’t miss Dejun. 

Next to him Xuxi was a handsome, gloomy lump. Guanheng had tried to convince him it was okay (he’d almost said Dejun was prettier than Sicheng anyway, but had stopped when he’d seen the look in Xuxi’s eyes) but it was no use. He’d really wanted to go with Sicheng.

Yangyang was unbothered. “I don’t know why you guys are taking this so seriously,” he said. “It’s just a dance.”

“It’s more than that,” said Xuxi. “I just don’t understand why— _no_.”

He took off at a sprint. Guanheng yelled, but Xuxi kept running towards the front doors, vaulting up the side of the stairs effortlessly and landing on the top step. That was when Guanheng saw the reason for the sudden run.

Sicheng shuffled away a bit, but he was caught off-guard and had nowhere to run to. Xuxi stood a respectful distance away and spoke, and Guanheng could see him radiate sincerity the way he always did. And then Sicheng was walking away, and Xuxi was watching him go.

Guanheng and Yangyang went over. “What happened?” asked Guanheng.

“I don’t know,” said Xuxi. He looked lost. “I asked him why he didn’t wanna go with me. He just said sorry and left.” 

“Sorry, dude,” said Guanheng, trying for a sympathetic squeeze on the shoulder. He didn’t know how well it worked. He wanted to try and cheer Xuxi up, but right then he saw the person he’d been waiting for, and everything else left his mind.

Dejun’s soft brown hair was messy, sticking out like he’d just run a hand through it. His uniform was rumpled, shirt untucked, jacket hanging over one shoulder. He stretched, face scrunching up, and when the wind picked up and tugged at his hair he smiled.

“Stop, you’re drooling,” said Yangyang with a snicker.

Guanheng shot him a glare, and then called out, “Dejun, hey.”

Dejun turned, caught Guanheng’s gaze and smiled even more. Guanheng wanted to melt away right there. “Hey,” he said, walking over. “What’s up?”

It took him standing right in front of him for Guanheng to realize Dejun wasn’t alone. Kun was with him. Kun was there, watching Guanheng, face unreadable. 

“Um… uh…” Guanheng shifted, and then pushed Xuxi in front of him. “Xuxi has something to say to you.”

“Yeah?” said Dejun.

“Do you wanna go to the autumn dance with me?” asked Xuxi. He was totally relaxed. “As friends. I need a date and you seem pretty cool, so how about it?”

Dejun blinked at him, and then looked at Guanheng, and then Kun, and then back to Xuxi. “Okay,” he said. “I—sure. Let’s go together.”

“Great,” said Xuxi, grinning. “Lemme give you my number and then we can text and work out all the details, yeah?”

They exchanged numbers and Guanheng looked on, satisfied. Of course he was disappointed he couldn’t go with Dejun, but Xuxi would make sure Dejun had a good time, and that was the most important thing. He turned, smiling, and made eye contact with Kun.

Kun was giving him a look beyond what Guanheng had thought humanly possible. It was colder than absolute zero. Not even the cold of dead space could compare. “Hello, Guanheng,” he said. The cold dissolved a bit, replaced by a polite, pleasant mask. “Excited for the dance?”

“I guess,” Guanheng forced out. “You… uh… excited for your, uh, study camp?”

“Not really excited,” said Kun with a tight smile, “but I can’t back out now. Hope you have a good time.” And then, mercifully, he looked away from Guanheng and talked normally with Yangyang.

“Thanks,” said Xuxi as he put away his phone. “It’s gonna be great going with you.”

“You too,” said Dejun, with a smile that was only a little awkward. He glanced at Guanheng, and then said, “See you around.”

He and Kun left. Guanheng was still so surprised by the whole encounter he barely remembered to bow. 

“Well that went pretty well,” said Xuxi. “I got a date. Dejun got a date. Kun didn’t break Guanheng in half.”

“You saw that too?” asked Guanheng. He’d been kind of scared he’d hallucinated the whole thing.

“He didn’t really try to hide it,” said Xuxi. “He must really not like you for asking Ten.”

“It doesn’t matter,” said Guanheng, trying not to think of bodies stuffed in walls and, specifically, his body stuffed in a wall. “It’s like Yangyang said, it’s just a dance. It’ll be done and then he and Ten can go back to their flirting or relationship and whatever. I’m just glad Dejun said yes.” He breathed a sigh of relief. 

“There was a chance he might’ve said no?” demanded Xuxi. “You asked me to ask him knowing I could get rejected _again_?”

“Well there was always a chance,” said Guanheng slowly. “And I know some other people asked Dejun before, but he said no because he didn’t like them.” He hummed. “I wonder what changed. I guess he’s desperate now since the dance is getting closer.”

“Desperate,” sputtered Xuxi, in surprise and outrage. “Desperate enough to go with me.”

“You bottom-tier idiot,” said Yangyang, giving Guanheng a flat look. “What changed is not the dance getting closer. It’s you asking Ten.”

“Huh?” Guanheng was lost.

Yangyang rubbed his face with both hands in frustration. “He said no to the people who asked him because he wanted to go with you,” he said. “Then you got a partner and he didn’t, so, yeah, he said yes to Xuxi.”

“That… that’s not…” Guanheng blinked. _Was_ it true?

“It’s why Qian Kun was so snippy with you,” said Yangyang. “He knows Dejun likes you, and now he thinks you like Ten. Bottom-tier idiot.”

Guanheng leaned back, trying to process. He looked at Yangyang with wide eyes. “You think Dejun likes me?”

“He’s the only weirdo in the school who would,” said Yangyang. 

Guanheng wanted to be offended at that, but his brain was on overdrive. Dejun might like him. Dejun wanted to go to the dance with him. Guanheng knew Dejun didn’t hate him, they were kind of friends, and he’d thought the dance was the perfect chance to become more than friends. But Dejun might already like him. He might like Guanheng.

“Wow,” he finally said.

“Wow is right,” said Yangyang. “I mean, he’s kind of weird and you’re pretty handsome but, seriously? You? Your brain doesn’t work 80% of the time.”

Guanheng wasn’t gonna argue that. He was still trying to wrap his mind around the idea of Dejun liking him. “Why didn’t he just ask me?” he asked. 

“Shy, maybe,” said Yangyang with a shrug. “Probably thought you were gonna ask him. It’s kind of obvious you’re gone for him.” He paused, tilting his head. “Would explain why Kun is so mad. He probably thinks you were playing with his feelings or something.”

“I wasn’t,” groaned Guanheng. “I really do like Dejun.”

“Why didn’t you ask him direct?” said Xuxi, sighing. “Now it’s all messed up and I’m the one going with him.”

He was right. It was all messed up. Guanheng groaned aloud, cursing his stupid brain and his stupid mouth and his stupid hands. Why did this have to happen to him?

Xuxi jabbed his elbow in Guanheng’s ribs, and Guanheng was going to shove him back (he was in enough pain, he didn’t need to add bruised ribs to the list) when he saw why and quickly straightened. 

It was Ten. He’d walked up to Kun and Dejun and was talking to them. Guanheng would’ve given both of Yangyang’s legs to know what they were saying, but they were too far to hear. He could see Ten smile at Dejun though, and he knew it was genuine because the smile he gave Kun was not. 

“What are they saying?” whispered Guanheng.

“Let’s see,” said Yangyang, self-proclaimed lip reading expert. “Ten is saying nice things to Dejun. He’s pissed at Kun.”

“Even I could guess that,” snapped Guanheng. 

“Okay,” said Yangyang. “He’s—oh crap.”

Ten had just turned, caught sight of Guanheng, and waved, smiling. Guanheng froze, and needed Xuxi elbowing him again to remind him to wave back. Next to Ten, Kun watched with a neutral expression. Ten beamed at Guanheng, then at Kun, and walked off looking very pleased with himself.

Guanheng watched him go and, instinctively, looked at Dejun. 

Their gazes met. Dejun had been looking at him from before, and he didn’t look away now, making direct eye contact with Guanheng. Dejun smiled, but it was that smile Guanheng really didn’t like, the one that Dejun gave him more often than not nowadays. 

“Oh, no,” murmured Guanheng aloud. This was not how things were supposed to go. 


	3. Step 3

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you for all the support and interest! I hope you'll enjoy the last chapter of this little fic, and I hope to see you again in this tag ^^♡

Guanheng looked good, but he felt horrible.

It was the night of the autumn dance, and he was all dressed up and standing by his date. His date, Ten. 

It was early in the night, but Guanheng had already suffered through the ordeal of his parents meeting Ten. His mother had cooed over him and how pretty he was. His father had kept joking about how he didn’t know how Guanheng had snagged such a great date. Ten had been the perfect boy throughout all of it, talking and laughing with his parents, complimenting their house and decor. It was impressive.

Guanheng hated it. Because that wasn’t supposed to be Ten, that was supposed to be Dejun. 

And now they were at the dance, and people kept coming up to Ten to say hi or tell him how good he looked, while Guanheng kept a smile plastered on his face through it all. He’d somehow become Ten’s pretty accessory. Which, to be honest, was kind of flattering, but after the sixth person gave him hardly more than a glance before talking with Ten, it got more annoying than anything.

He had to admit he and Ten looked good together. Guanheng wore all white, a prim and proper suit his mom had picked out. Ten was in black, no jacket, black shirt covered in an interesting pattern of white swirls and spirals. He wore a ton of silver jewelry in his many ear piercings and a thin chain with a ring as a pendant around his neck. Guanheng had given him a flower to wear around his wrist, and he’d actually worn it. It was a poofy white thing, completely out of sync with his look, but he’d tied it on with a smile. 

“Literally the whole school knows you,” said Guanheng, after yet another student left after talking to Ten. “I feel like a trophy husband.”

“Yeah, I know a lot of people,” said Ten. “And please, if anyone’s hot enough to be a trophy husband, it’s me.”

Guanheng grumbled—he could be a trophy husband too, he was handsome—when he spotted Yangyang in a simple black suit by the drinks table, and waved at him.

Yangyang saw the wave, and gave a brief wave back. He said a quick word to Renjun, who was talking with some of his friends nearby, and then walked up to Guanheng. “Hey,” he said. “You guys look good.”

“Thanks,” said Ten, smiling. “So do you. When are you finally gonna join the dance team?”

“One day,” said Yangyang, grinning back. He had all his hair combed back and he looked handsome, mature. He turned to Guanheng. “Seen Xuxi yet?” 

Guanheng shook his head. He’d been looking for him as soon he’d arrived. Xuxi was tall enough to stick out of every crowd, so if he’d arrived Guanheng would’ve seen him by now. 

Of course, he wasn’t that interested in Xuxi. Xuxi’s date was who was important.

“Dong Sicheng arrived, like, ten minutes ago,” said Guanheng, motioning to where he was standing at the other end of the room. One of the girls from the gymnastics team, Mei Qi, was with him, hanging off his arm and looking super relaxed. 

“Didn’t Huang Xuxi ask him?” asked Ten. “The whole school was talking about it.”

“Yeah, but he refused,” said Yangyang. “Twice. Three times, actually, I think.”

Ten hummed thoughtfully. Guanheng was going to ask him if he knew something, when the person he’d been waiting for all this time arrived.

Dejun was grinning so brightly he was glowing. It wasn’t like he was under a spotlight—he was the light itself. He was dressed in a black suit, bow tie and all, and his hair was parted on the side and swept away from his face. He was literally the prettiest person Guanheng had ever seen.

Dejun bounced with excitement, attached to Xuxi’s arm. When he saw Guanheng he rushed over, grinning wider than ever.

“Hi, everyone,” he said. He grabbed onto Guanheng’s arm and said, bubbling with excitement, “You’ll never guess what happened on the way here. We saw a ghost!”

“If it was a ghost,” said Xuxi. “It could’ve just been some regular dude we scared the crap out of.” He grinned, said hi to everyone.

“What happened?” asked Ten. He was smiling, looking amused as all hell.

“We hired a car to get here,” said Dejun, eager to tell the story. “You know I live kind of far away, right? There’s a bit of dirt road on the way, and it’s dark there.” He said this last bit to Guanheng, who nodded. “Anyway, we were on that road and Xuxi told this joke that made the driver laugh, and he almost crashed into this shape standing in the middle of the road. It was all in white, and when we looked back it was gone. Disappeared!”

“It could’ve just been a person,” said Xuxi. 

“All in white, standing in the middle of the road like that? No way,” said Dejun. He gave Guanheng’s arm a little squeeze. “It was kind of scary then but now it seems cool.”

“I’m glad you’re okay,” said Guanheng, and then quickly added, “Both of you.”

“Don’t worry, we’re fine,” said Dejun. He didn’t notice Guanheng’s quick save. He also didn’t notice that he’d linked his arm through Guanheng’s, and squeezed it every time he got especially excited. Guanheng would’ve handed over everything he owned to keep anyone from pointing it out. 

“You should hope it was a ghost,” said Yangyang. “Otherwise you almost killed a dude.”

“Oh man, I’m so glad we didn’t hit him,” said Xuxi seriously. “I really thought we almost hit a guy.”

“I don’t know why you were freaking out so much,” said Dejun. “I told you I’d help bury the body if we needed to.”

Xuxi gave Guanheng a helpless look. “Are you listening to this guy?”

“I’m listening,” said Guanheng, and then realized he sounded too much like a sop and wiped the smile off his face.

“Damn, Xuxi, he’d have helped bury the body,” said Yangyang. “What more would you want from a date?”

“This is why I always keep a shovel with me,” said Ten wisely. “You never know when you’ll need it.”

Dejun laughed at that. He leaned back as he did, and the pull on his arm made him realize he’d grabbed onto Guanheng. He quickly let go and stepped away, flashing an awkward, apologetic smile.

“Sorry, I’m sure you guys are busy,” said Dejun. “I should go find my friends.”

Guanheng scrambled for words. Don’t go → we’re not busy → I was waiting for you.

“I was waiting for you,” said Guanheng. He froze. That was too obvious, abort mission, abort—

“No, it’s okay, Xuxi can hang out with you guys for awhile,” said Dejun. He smiled, but it was that bad smile, the forced, unhappy one. “Sorry we were late, it was a long drive. I’ll maybe see you later.”

That wasn’t what Guanheng meant. He hadn’t been waiting for Xuxi, why would he be waiting for _Xuxi_ — 

But Dejun was already gone, and Guanheng was left standing there feeling like an idiot.

“That was really cute,” said Ten. “You guys are really cute.”

“Huh?” Guanheng snapped out of it. 

“You and him,” said Ten, smiling. “You’re cute together. You should date.”

Guanheng’s mouth dropped open. He literally couldn’t speak, which was a big deal because his mouth never needed any help saying anything.

“But, obviously, after tonight,” said Ten. “Because you are my date and he has his own. Right, Xuxi?”

“Huh?” Xuxi wasn’t even listening, busy tilting his head looking for something 

Yangyang sighed. “By the big mountain of candy, idiot.”

Sicheng was there, picking out pieces of chocolate and handing them to Mei Qi and her friends. He was wearing a white suit with a black shirt, purple flower pinned to the jacket. Mei Qi had a matching flower in her hair. 

“I don’t know what you’re talking about,” said Xuxi. “I was just looking at the decorations.”

“You should really learn how to lie better,” said Guanheng with a disappointed sigh, while Ten laughed. “That was super bad. My dog could’ve done better than that.”

“I don’t know what you’re talking about,” repeated Xuxi stubbornly. “I’m gonna go say hi to everyone.”

“I should go too,” said Yangyang, noting Renjun looking over. “Catch you later.” He walked back to his date and got a glass of cola from him.

Which left Guanheng alone with Ten. He was going to try (awkward) small talk, but he didn’t need to. “So what’s up with Huang Xuxi and Dong Sicheng?” asked Ten. 

“I don’t really know,” said Guanheng. “Xuxi asked him to the dance, but he said no. He even climbed out of a window so he wouldn’t have to talk to him.”

“Ouch,” said Ten. He paused. “Y’know, he asked me if Xuxi asked me? Sicheng, I mean. It must’ve been just after Xuxi asked him the first time, because no one was talking about it yet.”

Guanheng didn’t know that. “I didn’t know that,” he said.

“Yeah,” said Ten. “He seemed to think he was, like, the backup option.”

“He wasn’t,” said Guanheng. “Xuxi didn’t ask anyone else, not even after he got rejected. He didn’t even wanna go with Dejun. He only asked him because I asked him to. I didn’t want Dejun to not have a date.”

“So he really does like Sicheng,” said Ten. “Aww, that’s sweet. And kind of sad for him.”

“Of course he likes him,” said Guanheng. “Why else would he ask him?” And again after he’d embarrassed himself in front of a ton of students too. 

“Because he’s pretty and kind of popular?” said Ten. He frowned. “I guess I assumed Xuxi’s intentions. That wasn’t cool of me.”

Guanheng wanted to defend Xuxi, but Ten sort of had a point. Even Guanheng hadn’t known Xuxi actually liked Sicheng. He’d thought Xuxi had asked him spontaneously because, well, Sicheng was pretty and kind of popular. 

“Oh, Jiayi’s here,” said Ten, as one of the girls on his dance team walked in. “I’m gonna go say hi. Wanna come with?”

“Uh, no thanks,” said Guanheng. “I’m gonna find some guys from our class.” He hesitated. “If that’s okay?”

Ten laughed. “It’s fine,” he said, grinning. “I’m not your king.”

They split for some time. Guanheng met up with his classmates, talked a bit. Most of them wanted to talk about Ten and how Guanheng had managed to steal him away from golden boy Kun. Guanheng talked to them less. 

He was introduced to Renjun, a pretty boy who seemed way too good for Yangyang, and he made sure Yangyang knew it. Yangyang smiled at him sweetly and said, “Well we can’t all snag the prettiest boy in school.” 

Guanheng almost tackled him right then and there. Only the thought of his pristine white suit held him back.

“Should’ve just worn black,” he grumbled to himself while Yangyang cackled. 

He got Ten a glass of punch, because he was his date and Guanheng had manners, and Ten smiled and cooed over him, embarrassing him in front of the entire senior class. “He’s the best date,” said Ten, and he sounded genuine.

“He is really cute,” said a senior girl Guanheng had never met before and never wanted to meet again. “It’s too bad Kun couldn’t come.”

“Not that bad,” said Ten. His smile could’ve refrozen the polar ice caps. “I’m sure he’s enjoying his study camp.”

Guanheng escaped before Unnamed Senior said something that set off a second Cold War. He checked out the decorations, tried some food, did his best not to watch Dejun because that would’ve been creepy.

He didn’t watch him exactly, but Guanheng was still aware of what he was doing. He couldn’t help it. Dejun was like a magnet, and Guanheng was a helpless iron pin. Dejun talked with his friends, hung out with Xuxi, laughed and talked energetically. He looked like he was having fun. Guanheng wanted to go talk to him, but he didn’t know any of Dejun’s other friends and he didn’t want to butt in. He wasn’t Dejun’s date. 

He tried to distract himself with food. Guanheng grabbed a couple of those little sausages on sticks—it was one of the few things he was confident he could eat without ruining his suit—when he spotted another person in white standing by the drinks table.

Sicheng. His date had gone, probably to hang out with her friends, and he was alone. Without a second thought Guanheng walked over to him. 

“Hey,” he said. “I’m Huang Guanheng.”

“I know you, you’re Xuxi’s friend,” said Sicheng. “Hi.”

“Okay, that’s good,” said Guanheng. He switched off his brain, let his mouth take the lead. “Why did you say no when Xuxi asked you to the dance?”

“Eh?” Sicheng was surprised, and then uncomfortable, glancing to his right like he was literally looking for a way out.

“Sorry, I just wanna know,” said Guanheng. 

“I… um…” Sicheng glanced to his right again, and this time Guanheng saw what he was looking at. 

Xuxi leaned against the wall, talking to a couple of the guys from the track team. He was wearing a black suit, no tie, and all his hair was styled up. He looked like a millionaire, but a hot one, like he’d made his money doing something cool like driving a racecar or playing basketball, not developing a website.

“It really doesn’t matter if you tell me,” said Guanheng. “It’s not like anything will change now.”

Sicheng hesitated, and then gave in. “I refused because I know he doesn’t like me anyway,” he said. He shuffled awkwardly. “I didn’t want to say yes and then watch him flirt with other people all night.”

He looked unbothered, or rather he was trying very hard to. Guanheng gaped at him.

“Are you serious?” he demanded. “Xuxi’s not like that.”

Sicheng gave a very forced shrug. “Everyone likes him,” he said. “Even if he doesn’t flirt with them, they flirt with him. It’s okay. I know it too.”

“Maybe,” said Guanheng. “But he still asked you. Twice.”

“Because I said no the first time,” said Sicheng. “He just—I’m kind of good-looking and everyone knew I was too awkward to get a partner. He asked me the second time because—it was only ’cause I said no in front of everyone.” 

Guanheng stared at him. “Wow,” he said. “You really are dumb.”

“Huh?” Sicheng didn’t look offended, only taken aback.

“You think he doesn’t like you?” asked Guanheng. “He only asked you ’cause you were available and pretty? Look at him right now.”

Sicheng turned and made direct eye contact with Xuxi. Xuxi hurriedly looked away and laughed along with whatever one of the guys just said.

“He likes you,” said Guanheng. “He didn’t ask anyone before or after you. He’s with Dejun as a favor to me.”

“That—that’s—” Sicheng glanced at Xuxi again, but Xuxi was focused on not looking back at him. 

“Just watch me after I go,” said Guanheng. “He’s gonna walk right up to me and ask what we were talking about.”

“He doesn’t _like_ me,” said Sicheng desperately, but it sounded like he was trying to convince himself.

Guanheng sighed. Dejun really was the only one who could be smart and pretty at the same time. “You should talk to him,” he said. He paused, and then added, “But, like, after the dance. He’s Dejun’s date.”

He walked off before Sicheng could stammer something back, feeling proud of himself. That had turned out pretty well. Maybe he should let his mouth run things more often.

Less than a minute later Xuxi sidled up to Guanheng. He should’ve been too big to sidle, but he did it. “So,” he said, trying and failing to sound casual, “what were you and Sicheng talking about?”

Xuxi was so predictable, it was adorable. “Nothing,” said Guanheng, grinning. “He said I looked really good.”

“You’re lying,” said Xuxi, laughing. He stopped. “Aren’t you?”

Guanheng just grinned wider. “Sorry, gotta go find Ten,” he said. “See you.” 

“You are the literal worst,” called out Xuxi as Guanheng left. He caught Sicheng spying on them from next to the punch bowl, and snorted. 

It was nice to know he wasn’t the only screw-up in the school.

Ten had split from his classmates and looked in a worse mood than before, chomping on candy moodily. Guanheng approached cautiously. “Everything okay?” he asked.

“Fine,” said Ten. “Where’ve you been?”

“Scoring my friend his crush,” said Guanheng proudly. 

“Yeah? And where’s yours?” asked Ten. 

Guanheng tilted his head to where Dejun was rifling through the bowl of candy for the type he liked, the peanut butter filled ones. 

“That’s nice,” said Ten. 

The way he said it made Guanheng feel like it wasn’t that nice. “Uh,” he said intelligently. “Did anything happen?”

“No,” said Ten.

“That’s good,” said Guanheng. “I thought—”

“I was just wondering,” said Ten, voice light and dangerous, “why everyone would be so interested in someone who didn’t even show up, and why they’d ask _me_ about it.”

“Um,” said Guanheng. He looked around, trying to find an excuse to escape.

“After all, he’s not anyone special to me,” said Ten pointedly. His tone was more pointed than a knife. “I’m obviously no one special to _him_. After I told him how much I was looking forward to this, when he _knew_ how I’d even planned my outfit, so that we’d match and—”

There was a table piled with finger food nearby. Guanheng could say he was really hungry and run away there. Was that believable? Could he get away with that?

“—and then I find out,” continued Ten, “that he’s ditched me for a study camp. A _study camp_. He abandoned me so that he could go tutor literal strangers for _nothing_. Was one stupid camp really more important than me? He’s been to so many! They have like a million a year! I bought this earring especially for tonight and he isn’t even here to see how good I look. He should be here, he should _know_ what he’s missing, how dare he not come—”

“I thought the only reason he didn’t ask you is because he couldn’t come,” said Guanheng without thinking.

Ten shot him a glare that could’ve melted steel. “That’s not important,” he said.

It seemed kind of important to Guanheng, but he shut up. 

“I’m done with him,” huffed Ten. “ _Done_. I never want to see his stupid face again.”

“Uh, sorry,” said Guanheng. He didn’t know what else to say. Kun was an idiot? Ten deserved better?

“You don’t need to apologize,” said Ten, putting up a smile. “You’ve been great. And I promise I’ll help you arrange your date with Dejun if you want. It’s obvious he likes you too.” 

“Really?” asked Guanheng. “It’s obvious? Because Yangyang said that but you can’t ever trust him. He’ll say whatever to make you look like an idiot, he’s the devil…” 

He trailed off, realizing Ten wasn’t listening anymore. He was staring over Guanheng’s shoulder, looking completely confused. He wasn’t the only one. Everyone was staring at the same thing. Slowly, Guanheng turned around, and his mouth fell open.

It was Qian Kun, looking the least attractive Guanheng had ever seen him. He was wearing a white sweatshirt tucked into white track pants, the bottom of one leg covered in dirt. His hair was a mess, sticking out in every direction. Guanheng was pretty sure he saw a twig sticking out of it.

Kun smiled. “Yongqin,” he said.

“What are you doing here?” hissed Ten. He strode toward Kun like a storm, and Guanheng, caught up in the pull, went with him.

“I came to see you,” said Kun, like he hadn’t just walked into a school dance in a sweatshirt and track pants, looking like he’d walked through a war. 

“What about the study camp?” demanded Ten. 

“I snuck out,” said Kun, smiling sheepishly. 

“You—you snuck—” Ten sputtered. “Why?” 

“I don’t know,” said Kun. “I just decided I needed to see you.”

“Just?” said Ten. “You don’t _just_ decide things.”

“I did,” said Kun.

Ten was literally too stunned to speak.

“What happened to you?” asked Guanheng.

“Oh, that’s a funny story,” said Kun with a light laugh. “I jumped the wall of the campsite and started walking. I got to this road and stopped to make sure I was going the right way, when a car came around the bend and almost hit me. I jumped out of the way and fell in a ditch by the side, which is where this happened.” He motioned to his dirt-stained leg. “I’m glad I didn’t get run over.”

He laughed like he’d just told them about a school picnic, not almost dying and then falling into a ditch. Oh, Guanheng was so, so glad Dejun didn’t have to bury a body. 

“Are you okay?” asked Ten, moving to stand next to him. “Did you get hurt?”

“I’m okay,” said Kun. “Sorry for showing up like this. Honestly I have no idea what I was thinking.” He laughed awkwardly. “Guanheng, hi.”

“Uh,” said Guanheng, taken aback. “Hi.”

“You look great,” said Kun. “Having a good time?”

“Yeah, sure,” said Guanheng.

“Great,” said Kun. He looked back at Ten. “What about you?”

“What?” Ten stared at him in disbelief. “Forget me, you’re hurt.”

He was. Guanheng only noticed it now, but Kun was favoring his left leg, keeping his weight off the one all brown with dirt. He’d fallen in a ditch after all.

“I’m fine,” insisted Kun. 

“You are not,” said Ten. He put his arm around Kun’s waist, taking his weight. “I’m taking you to the hospital.”

“Yongqin, it’s fine,” said Kun, but Ten refused to let go, and was already turning him around.

“Guanheng, I’m sorry,” said Ten, looking back over his shoulder. “You’ve been so sweet and I hate abandoning you like this but…”

“It’s cool,” said Guanheng, grinning. Qian Kun had shown up in a sweatshirt and stolen his date right in front of him, and all Guanheng could do was smile. They were pretty cute together.

Kun leaned towards Ten and said something, something that made Ten break into a huge smile. They walked off together.

“Was—was that Kun-ge?”

Dejun had come up to stand beside Guanheng, looking confused. He also looked beautiful, but that was expected.

“Yeah,” said Guanheng. “He stole my date.”

“I thought he had his study camp,” said Dejun.

“It’s a long story,” said Guanheng. He thought it over. “You should probably apologize to him. You and Xuxi.”

“Us?” Dejun blinked at him. “What did we do? You’re the one who—”

A loud crash cut him off. Guanheng jumped, and yanked Dejun to him automatically. The drinks table had overturned, glasses scattered everywhere, punch bowl a mess of broken glass on the floor. In the middle of it all was Dong Sicheng, collapsed on the floor, soaked in red punch and looking dazed.

Before Guanheng could even move, Xuxi was there, helping Sicheng up, asking if he was okay.

“I’m okay,” said Sicheng quietly. The only reason Guanheng even heard him was because everyone else had shut up. “It’s just my suit that’s ruined.”

“Who cares? It’s just a suit,” said Xuxi. “You sure you’re not hurt?” He pushed away a chunk of broken glass with his foot.

“I’m—I’m not hurt,” said Sicheng.

“Then everything’s fine,” said Xuxi. He grinned brightly. “Come on, let’s get cleaned up.”

He led Sicheng to the bathrooms. Guanheng noticed Sicheng held onto Xuxi’s arm on the way, even though he really didn’t need to.

Dejun went to follow them, but Guanheng tugged him back. “They don’t need your help,” he said. “I think it’s better if they were alone for some time.”

“That must’ve hurt though,” said Dejun, worried. “I wonder how it happened.”

Sicheng had probably walked into the table while spying on Xuxi. It seemed like a Sicheng thing to do. “Who knows,” said Guanheng. “He’ll be fine. Xuxi’s taking care of him.”

“I guess,” said Dejun. He laughed. “I think my date’s been stolen too.”

“So it’s just us,” said Guanheng. It felt like an opportunity, but now that he had it he didn’t know what to do with it. “How’s the night so far?”

“Pretty good,” said Dejun. “I met some of the guys in your section, that was fun. What about you? Had fun with Ten?”

“Yeah, he’s great,” said Guanheng, feeling awkward. He felt bad telling Dejun that Ten was cool, but it was the truth.

Dejun shuffled, looking awkward too, and then he bit his lip and said, “I’m sorry but I hope you know Ten doesn’t—doesn’t like you like that. He only agreed to go with you because Kun-ge wasn’t gonna come.”

Guanheng blinked at him. “I know,” he said. “He told me.”

“Okay,” said Dejun. He looked away. “As long as you know.”

“I do,” said Guanheng. He hesitated. Should he ask—?

“Because I know you like him a lot,” said Dejun, still refusing to look at him. “But he likes Kun-ge, I think you can see that, so…” He folded his arms, brow furrowing as he frowned at nothing. “I’m sorry.”

“I don’t,” blurted out Guanheng.

Dejun finally looked at him, frowning more than ever. “It’s super obvious, Guanheng,” he said. “He was literally melting into him—"

“Not literally,” said Guanheng automatically. He stopped. “No, that isn’t important. Stupid.” He slapped himself.

Dejun stared at him, head tilted as he tried to figure out what Guanheng was trying to tell him, but he wasn’t getting it. Guanheng had to say it.

“Dejun,” he said seriously. “I’m gonna talk. I need you to really listen to me, okay?”

“Okay,” said Dejun. He looked confused, but at least he wasn’t frowning anymore.

“Okay,” repeated Guanheng. He took a deep breath. He could do this. 

Now was the time. It was the autumn dance, Dejun was in front of him looking totally gorgeous in a suit and bow tie, waiting and listening. Guanheng had to tell him now.

“I wrote a thing,” said Guanheng. 

“A thing,” said Dejun, nodding. He lifted one side of his mouth in a cute, thinking look. “The note you gave Ten?”

“No,” said Guanheng. He stopped. “Yes.”

“Okay, the love letter,” said Dejun. “What about it?”

It wasn’t a love letter → it was a confession note → that’s not the same thing → it doesn’t matter → I gave it to the wrong person → it was the wrong locker.

“It was wrong,” said Guanheng instead, because he was stupid.

Dejun didn’t say anything. Instead he waited for Guanheng to explain, looking more puzzled than before.

And Guanheng tried to explain. “I went to put it in the locker,” he said. “But then I saw you—you were coming and I thought you’d see me and I panicked and—and I messed up.”

“What did you mess up?” asked Dejun.

Dejun had to like Guanheng. There was no other way he’d put up with his stupidity for so long. The thought was encouraging.

“I stuck it in without looking properly,” said Guanheng. “I was panicking, y’know? And my hands hate me. I’m starting to think life itself hates me.”

“But Ten agreed to go with you,” said Dejun. His confused look was replaced by something disappointed. “Is it because he doesn’t like you? But I thought everyone knew—”

“No, listen,” interrupted Guanheng. “I messed up.”

Dejun nodded.

“It—I—” Guanheng couldn’t get the words out. Now that he was finally there he couldn’t even say them. He swallowed the nerves tickling his throat, but they refused to go down. “Your locker is next to Ten’s,” he said helplessly, and hoped Dejun understood.

Dejun nodded again. And then he stopped, tilted his head, thought the words over. For some time he stayed like that, light frown creasing his brow as he worked through Guanheng’s jumbled thoughts. Guanheng waited, feeling like he was going to explode.

And then Dejun’s eyes went big.

Guanheng stared back, embarrassed as hell but unable to look away. He was sure he looked like a ripe tomato stuffed in a white suit. He could feel the heat pouring out of his ears. 

“But—but you addressed it to Ten,” said Dejun. His ears were turning bright red.

“I didn’t,” said Guanheng. “I addressed it to the prettiest boy in school.”

Dejun stared at him. And then his mouth fell open. He closed it, pressed his lips together. His cheeks were now warm with pink, and even a second away from exploding Guanheng still found it cute. 

“Oh,” said Dejun finally.

“Yeah,” said Guanheng. He had no idea what else to say. 

“So.” Dejun shifted, poked at the floor with a foot as a smile bloomed on his face. “What else did the note say?”

“That—if you wanted to go with me,” said Guanheng. “I wrote it a couple of times. You can have one of the other versions.”

“That sounds good,” said Dejun, still smiling at his shoe. 

“Okay,” said Guanheng. “So, uh, can I, like, uh—”

Dejun cut him off with a kiss.

It was a quick, light peck, just lips pressing together for barely a second. Guanheng was sure a punch would’ve affected him less. He blinked rapidly, dazed, trying to think, or talk, or do anything but stand there like a statue.

“Sorry,” said Dejun, but he didn’t look sorry at all. “I just really wanted to do that.”

“Yeah, cool,” forced out Guanheng. “That—cool. Fine. Sure. No problem.”

Dejun broke into a huge grin. “Come on,” he said, taking Guanheng by the hand. “Let’s dance.”

They waded onto the dance floor. Guanheng had danced with Ten earlier, but that time the song had been more upbeat, and he’d been more occupied with admiring Ten’s dance skills than doing any dancing himself. The music drifting out from the shitty school system speakers now was slow, melodic, and at least a couple of decades old. It was the perfect song for slow dancing.

They didn’t really dance, more like moved slowly in rhythm, but Guanheng really did not care. He was here, at the autumn dance, with Dejun. Everything was perfect.

“You should’ve just told me,” said Dejun, still smiling. “I would’ve said yes.”

“I didn’t wanna take the risk,” said Guanheng. “I was sure I’d end up saying something dumb. You know how I am.”

Dejun hummed. “Yeah, I guess that makes sense.”

“Guanheng?”

It was Xuxi, watching him and Dejun with a puzzled look. He wasn’t wearing his jacket, and it took Guanheng a moment to realize where it was. Sicheng was wearing it, oversized on his frame, arms around his waist to keep it closed. His own jacket was a pink-stained mess in Xuxi’s hands.

“I was looking for you guys,” said Xuxi. “Sicheng wants to go home and I think I should drop him off. Is that okay?”

“That’s fine,” said Dejun, latching onto Guanheng’s arm naturally. “I totally understand. Are you okay, Sicheng? It looked like a bad fall.”

“I’m alright,” said Sicheng, smiling. “I’m more worried about what my mother’s going to say when she sees I ruined my suit.”

“She’ll understand,” said Xuxi confidently. Sicheng smiled wider at that, but only after Xuxi had turned back to look at Dejun.

Dejun and Xuxi said their goodbyes, talked about how much fun they’d had, how Dejun would get home, polite dance date stuff. Guanheng was getting kind of bored. He’d been doing something very important before they’d shown up and he wanted to get back to it.

Finally Xuxi left, Sicheng with him. A few students watched them go, whispering to each other, but after the stunt Kun had pulled earlier it wasn’t that interesting a scene. 

“I’m date-less too, now, I guess,” said Dejun, grinning. 

“I guess,” said Guanheng as he grinned back. “Might as well stick together.”

Dejun laughed. It was the prettiest sound in the world.

“Why didn’t you ask me?” asked Guanheng carelessly.

“Ask you what?” asked Dejun.

“To the dance,” said Guanheng. “Since you did wanna go with me. Unless I completely misread everything, including the, uh, kiss…”

“No, you didn’t,” said Dejun, looking away. His cheeks looked pink, but it was hard to tell under the golden lighting. “I, um, I thought about it. I don’t know. I was worried you’d say no. And then Kun-ge was so sure you liked me, I thought I’d just wait until you asked me. And then you didn’t.” He gave an awkward little chuckle.

“I’m sorry,” said Guanheng. “I should’ve. But, I mean, we’re here in the end anyway, right? No matter all the stuff we had to get through to get here.”

“Yeah, we are,” said Dejun, and he smiled.

He looked so good, and he was so close. Hesitantly, Guanheng leaned forward, and Dejun didn’t move away. Guanheng shut off his brain and closed the distance to kiss him.

Dejun’s lips were soft, and they kissed back. Guanheng didn’t know how he didn’t float away in the air from the feel of them.

When they parted, Dejun was smiling. Guanheng broke into a smile.

They danced, rotating slowly. Guanheng looked past Dejun and found Yangyang staring at him, grinning like a devil. Yangyang gave a big, obnoxious thumb’s up.

 _Die,_ Guanheng mouthed at him, and Yangyang laughed.

“What’s wrong?” asked Dejun, craning his neck to see what Guanheng was looking at. 

“Nothing,” said Guanheng. He smiled, and Dejun relaxed and smiled back. 

And that was true, wasn’t it? Guanheng was at the autumn dance, and he was dancing with and had just kissed Xiao Dejun, the prettiest boy in school.

Things couldn’t be better. 

**Author's Note:**

> Thank you for reading! I hope you enjoyed. If you did, please don't hesitate to let me know ♡
> 
> I'm on [tumblr](http://alette-stars.tumblr.com/) and [Twitter](https://twitter.com/alette_star) if you want to talk~ I also have a [Curious Cat](https://curiouscat.me/alette_star)!


End file.
